Bruges, Gent and Maastricht on the cheap

[Libby]

I'm leaving in 57 days and starting to panic about what this trip is going to cost me. I have the money, but it's like I've developed feature creep and a little side trip here, a little side trip there...it's starting to add up.

London is pretty much paid for. Germany will be expensive but I'll be stayng with a friend and that should help offset the costs. We'll also be able to make lunches, etc.

But the week in between, when I visit Bruges, Ghent and Maastricht is the great unknown.

Can anyone recommend things to do there that is cheap? What is absolute "not to miss" and what I should skip. I don't want to waste money.

I am taking a day out of the Bruges stay to travel to Ypres and take a half day tour of the WWI battle fields. That's something I really want to do.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Eagle]

Libby, Unfortunately I don't have much information on that area. Hopefully, herrbert or MTH will spot this post, as I'm sure they will have some great suggestions.

I'll be anxious to hear the details of your tour of Ypres and the WW-I battlefields. That area and of course Vimy Ridge and Passchendaele are on my list of places to see, but I haven't made it there yet.

Happy travels!

[herrbert]

Walking around in the cities, doesn't cost you anything. But if it comes to seeing attractions, than in a lot of cases you need pay an entrance fee. But if you really want to see something than this is the chance. We all have had the feeling after a visit, that it mght have been better to keep the money in the wallet, but what is great for one person, can be a bummer for someone else. So it is hard to tell.

The best ways to safe money is the common one: get you lunch, drink and snacks from the local supermarket. (not a trainstations), double check your hostels, if they have a kitchen, you can prepare you dinner there as well. You can also ask at the reception for good and cheap places to eat. In all these cities there should be (well there are) places that are typical places were students go, so talk to a couple of them on the streets. They might have some good tips on were to go. (everybody speaks English so no worries about a language barrier here.)

In general Belgium is a little bit cheaper than the Netherlands, so it could be worthwhile to take a few things from Belgium into Maastricht.

One other tip, get used to say Brugge (the Dutch/Flemmish name, instead of the Wallon sounding English name for it.)

[Libby]

Thanks for the advice! And you are right about the trainstations. I have a few days where I'll be spending some hours on the train and I'lll plan in advance to have food with me instead of buying it at the station or on the train itself.

I've been told the three churches that are beautiful in Brugge are all free to visit so there is that. I also only have one full day in the city as I'm heading to Ypres early in the morning of the second.

Eagle,
I've found this afternoon tour organization that sounded quite good. I e-mailed the company and they responded with a recommended tour that has a real Canadian bent. Essex Farm, Passchendaele, Hill 62, etc. I only wish I could make it to Vimy, but that will have to be another trip.

[madamtrashheap]

To echo herrbert, walking around the cities on your list will give you a lot to see and a real sense of the city, without even going inside anywhere.

Generally speaking, entry to churches is free (other than a few exceptions around Europe) so you can view some great artworks, architecture and history for free. I know a lot of people freak and think "ABC" (another bloody church!) but the inside is often as good/better than the outside so stick your head in occasionally.

For food, other than looking for student hangouts, remember that anywhere on main squares or nearby popular sites will generally be more expensive than if you just wander off the beaten track a few steps.

Can't recall if you kept Brussels in your itinerarly (for a quick stop) but if you did, I'd visit the Mannekin Pis, take photos of the Grand'Place and even spring for the entrance to the chocolate museum. Also, don't forget to rub the leg of the statue of Everard ’t Serclaes which is located on the wall at the edge of the Grand'Place when you walk down the street leading to the Mannekin Pis. He died on this site in 1388 resisting Flemish occupation and passers-by stroke the limbs of his bronze statue for luck. I wouldn't bother with the Atomium and the National Museums unless they really interest you (and you likely won't have time).

For Brugge and Gent, the cathedrals are amazing, the main squares good for sitting and people watching and the cities lend themselves to just wandering. You'll no doubt walk along the Graslei in Gent which is a pretty street on the water and in Brugge you'll have one or two (!) canals to wander along or sit by munching on a picnic from the supermarket or local food market if it's on. In Maastricht you'll find yourself wandering the city walls and checking out the gates as well as the newly (well, 2 years ago) remodelled town square, all of which are free.

Hope that helps a little - 55 days to go!

[Libby]

Thanks!

I've noticed these past few weeks I was starting to suffer feature creep in this vacation. Little things being added on that were costing extra money and that it was slowly getting bigger and bigger. Things like TWO day trips out of London, one to Cambridge and another to Salisbury. Then I booked accomodatons at a guest house in Ghent instead of the hostel and that was 46 euros a night compared to 18. Things like that. What I needed to do was sit down and figure out what was really important.

So....

Guest House has been cancelled. No matter how pretty it is, the hostel has some great reviews and it right down town. I'll save a lot there.

Day trips from London will be cut back to one. Still not sure which one, but I'm leaning towards Cambridge. I added seeing an addition play while I was there so that put up my costs. But there is lots to do around London that is free and I'll easily catch back up.

I splurged on the WWI tour but I really, really wanted to see these places. I'll make up by skipping places like the Chocolate museum, etc.

And walking around the towns is a great way to see te place and save money.

Germany is still all up in the air becausemy friend there is planning mostof it. I'll have to watch my spending there for sure.

[madamtrashheap]

Interesting that the creep is happening before you get there - usually you add things on the spur of the moment when you're already there! But, you're planning well so you'll be fine. I remembered another site that might be of help for London: www.freelondonlistings.co.uk/ As you know, there are lots of free things to do in London so these notes will add to your list and give you plenty to choose from. For your day trip - Cambridge is pretty, great for wandering and especially if you have always wanted to see the University town (King's College Chapel, University Library, etc). If you were just planning on going to Salisbury and not on to Stonehenge, etc, then I'd choose Cambridge over Salisbury. Salisbury is also pretty, but different to Cambridge, plus the punting is better in Cambridge! The other advantage is that it is quite easy to get to Cambridge alone, whereas the better option for Stonehenge is a tour.

Germany is expensive, so not knowing exactly what your friend has planned it's hard to recommend what to look out for. I can, however, recommend eating lunch from an Imbiss (snack stand) which you'll see dotted around the city. They offer basic Wurst und Bröttchen (sausage and bread roll) as well as a few other things (Rollmops - pickled herring anyone?!). Knigge is a great cake shop in Bremen (I recall you're still going there?) so you could by a Bienenstich (Bee Sting) there and sit in the park at Am Wall in front of the windmill to enjoy it.

[Libby]

Yes, Germany is expensive but my friend knows that I'm doing this on a budget. The really great thing is she is a fellow traveller (we met while touring Scotland) and she is very budget concious herself. I also keep reminding her.

London I'm not too worried about. I have been there a few times and know how to make my money stretch. Most of the things I want to do in London are free anyway. As well, my big expenses (hostel, two theatre tickets) are already paid for. All that's left to buy is my Tube pass and my Eurostar ticket (which is cheaper to get there than to buy before I go due to my Belgium rail pass). The day trips...they aren't all that important and if I went to Salisbury Id have to go to Stonehenge and by the time you add up rail, bus to the Henge and entrance I'm looking at 40+ GPS just for that!

Hmm...I've been told about German cake's! YUM

[Libby]

I posted this in the other thread, but nobody responded. I"d really like to hear what people think about this.

I'm worried I haven't allowed enough time for Brugge or Maastricht. I'll have only one day in each of the cities. I also have two nights planned for Gent when there really isn't anything I wanted to see in the city specifically. I'm wondering about taking the two nights at Ghent and adding one to Brugge and another to Maastricht.

Suggestions?

[herrbert]

Pick either Gent or Brugge as your base, and make a daytrip from one to the other. These towns are so close that you can easily do this. If you feel that there is more to see in Brugge, than pick Brugge as the place to stay, and make the daytrip to Gent. (if you are tired of Gent, you could get to Antwerp aswell.)

Two days always seem like a better idea, in that you have some room to play with. You have the entire day in one place, so if you don't like the previous one, you can leave there early, and have 1,5 days in Maastricht. If you like Brugge, you can take a train in the late afternoon, and still have enough time to arrive in Maastricht, and explore it on the one full day you have there. If you plan a one-nighter, you have to leave Brugge early in order to spend the afternoon in Maastricht, and maybe a part of the following morning/early afternoon (depending on the travelling time to your next destination.)

[Libby]

I think I'll do exactly that. Add the extra day to Brugge and then another in Maastricht. That way if I see enough of Brugge in a day, I can daytrip it to Gent. Or, I can go to the coast, etc.

The Maastricht thing is I want to spend a day exploring the caves on top of everything else in the city.

[Libby]

I've got another question! Now that I'll have more time in Brugge, I'm thinking I might store my bags at the station and explore Brussels a bit before moving on to Brugge in the evening.

Anyone familiar with that area? Can you explore an of the main sites within walking distance of the Eurostar station?

[madamtrashheap]

Libby, the Midi area of Brussels isn't the prettiest nor savoury area of the city (esp. at night), so I'd suggest you still stick with your plan to explore a little more of Brussels that day, but store you bag in the lockers at Midi/Zuid station and jump on the next train to Gare Centrale, then you can walk 5mins to the Grand'Place and other sights (and foods!). The train between stations should take 5mins max and they are very frequent (1 every minute or so).

[Libby]

Excellent! Thanks for that bit of information.

Now I need to decide what time to leave London. The Eurostar has early trains and then some beginning again at 10:30 or so. They have a two hour gap during morning rush.

[herrbert]

Mar 22, 2009 9:13:20 GMT -5 Libby said:

I think I'll do exactly that. Add the extra day to Brugge and then another in Maastricht. That way if I see enough of Brugge in a day, I can daytrip it to Gent. Or, I can go to the coast, etc.

The Maastricht thing is I want to spend a day exploring the caves on top of everything else in the city.

You can get there by boat, but that will not be the budgetproof version of the trip. There are some tours that include both.